Abstract

This study explores whether social enterprise business models, which charge food insecure
individuals for donated food, offer a sustainable and dignified means of promoting food
security, or simply perpetuate a neoliberal abdication of government responsibility. Demand
for food via emergency food relief initiatives is growing strongly in Australia, with significant
new demand from the individuals who might be regarded as the working poor. Frontline
charitable organisations who obtain donated food and make it available for free via initiatives
such as food pantries and soup kitchens, are struggling to meet surging demand at a time of
retreating government support. The idea that these benevolent organisations might charge food
insecure individuals for donated food is counter intuitive, to the point of being prohibited
within relevant state based legislation. However, user pays models are gaining traction in
countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom and France, both because they offer a funding
stream to charitable agencies and because it is claimed they respect the dignity of food
insecure individuals. Using a whole of supply chain perspective, this study has gathered in-depth
interview data from a range of ‘industry’ participants as well as survey data from end
clients, to examine what role, if any, user pays social enterprise models might play in the
Australian emergency food relief landscape.